Hello lovely readers! I know it’s been forever since my last post. Life is busy! When I don’t have a lot of time for experimenting in the kitchen, there a few vegan blogs that I know I can rely on for something quick and yummy. One of those that I’ve loved for a while is Fat Free Vegan Kitchen. This is a recipe of Susan’s that I tweaked to accommodate what I had on hand in the house, and it turned out delicious. I had a lot of cilantro in the fridge that needed to be used so I used that instead of basil, and walnuts instead of almonds, which I prefer in pesto anyway. This is much lower fat than traditional pesto too, since the creaminess of the eggplant replaces the need for any oil. And the best part is that it can be used as a dip, sandwich spread, or as an addition to pasta, and all busy vegans can appreciate foods with multiple uses!

More recipes to come soon. My spring CSA share starts next month so I’ll soon have more veggies than I know what to do with!

My first attempt at making my own veggie patty! I rarely ever buy vegan burgers because I just can’t find one that isn’t crazy expensive, full of sodium, and that I like enough to spend $6 a box on! These are super hearty and filling so I recommend having them on a lettuce leaf or another type of green instead of bread.

Makes about 6 patties

1 1/2 cup cooked chickpeas (I pressure cook mine but canned is fine also, just don’t use as much salt)

1 leek, finely chopped

3 small carrots, shredded

5 small white potatoes, peeled and halved

1/4 cup chopped dill

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

1 clove of minced garlic

1 tsp lemon juice

olive oil

paprika, red pepper, and sea salt to taste

5-6 leaves of kale, chard, or any kind of lettuce you can wrap around the patty

Preheat your oven to 400°. Boil the potatoes for about 10 minutes until they’re just starting to get tender. While that’s cooking, start cooking the leeks in a pan with some olive oil over medium-low heat until they start to become translucent, but not browned. When your potatoes are done and have cooled a bit, shred them into a mixing bowl, and add all the remaining ingredients. Toss everything together and form the mixture into 1/2 inch thick patties. Cook them over medium heat in a non-stick skillet until they are browned on both sides. Finally, put the patties in the oven for about 10 minutes until they become crispier and more firm. Wrap some greens around them and enjoy!

At the vegetable market in my neighborhood, the bunches of cilantro are huge! So I’ll buy it for a simple salsa or to use as a garnish in a recipe, then I find myself rushing to use all of it before it goes bad. Problem solved: pesto! This was my first time making pesto without basil, and it turned out really good. I was kind of hesitant at first because I’m one of those people who thinks cilantro tastes a little like soap and can only take it in small doses. But this did not have that effect at all. It think it’s because the nutritional yeast gives it that nutty flavor and balances it out perfectly.

2 cups loosely packed cilantro

1 jalapeno pepper chopped

4 tbsp olive oil

4 tsp water

2 tbsp nutritional yest

3 cloves of garlic

juice of half a lemon

sea salt and black pepper to taste

Process it all up! I left it a little chunky but you can blend it for longer if you want it to be smoother.